I picked up fifteen yards, bounced up, and hurried our team to the line to run the next play. We walked the ball down the field, and the pace looked to be too much for the St. Joe defenders. On the seventh play, Ty was stopped at the one-foot line. I lined us up, and we snapped the ball on first sound, before St. Joe was fully set. I took the snap under center and ran a quarterback sneak for our first touchdown. We only needed three more.
I have no idea what St. Joe might have been thinking on their next possession. If I were them, I would have simply run the ball and tried to eat up the clock. I can only guess they thought they might get a quick score by running a screen pass. Tim read it and ripped the ball out of their running back’s hands, using what Cassidy had taught us about pressure points. He covered the twenty yards for another score. We now trailed 31–17 with eight minutes left.
St. Joe got smart and began to run the ball and use all the clock for each play. Our defense was ready and forced them to punt. Ty got it to midfield for us. On the next play, I spotted Roc one-on-one with his defender. I dropped back and uncorked a long one that was a fifty-fifty ball. This time it didn’t go our way, and they intercepted it. That one was on me because I’d gotten greedy.
St. Joe picked that moment to get a couple of first downs. It was agonizing to stand on the sidelines and watch the clock start to wind down. Coach Hope was forced to use a time-out, and I finally got the ball on our 28 yard line with only three minutes left. It wasn’t looking good.
Before the offense ran out, Coach Mason wanted to talk to us.
“You don’t need to get it all at once. Whatever you do, either get a first down or get out of bounds. If you have to, line up and down the ball to get the clock stopped.”
This was where the summer work paid off. I’d practiced throwing fade routes with Phil and Roc. I sent them both streaking up the sidelines, and the defenders had to turn to run with them. Then I would throw the ball behind them and to the outside. They would turn and grab the pass before their defender could react. When we were seventeen yards out, I found Wolf down the middle for the score.
We now trailed 31–24 with two minutes remaining. It was up to the defense to hold them. On the first play, St. Joe broke an eleven-yard run for a first down. It made me sick to my stomach when they began to celebrate. Coach Hope used our remaining two time-outs and forced them to punt with eighteen seconds left on the game clock. I would probably have one, possibly two plays to try to tie it up.
St. Joe’s punter was apparently overeager because he boomed it. I saw Ty begin to drift back and started to get excited. They call it ‘outkicking your coverage.’ Kick-return defenses are designed for kicks of thirty to forty yards. Defenders are trained to stay in their lanes and converge on the kick returner. That means they are spaced out so the runner doesn’t have anywhere to go. When you outkick your coverage, the defenders all bunch up as they sprint to make the tackle.
Ty did something brilliant. He stopped and let them come to him while he made a couple of tentative steps upfield as though trying to figure out where to go. St. Joe came at him at a dead sprint to make the tackle and end the game. Ty suddenly juked left and then ran right. I began to bounce up and down as I realized he might have a chance.
Ty did his thing and weaved through their defenders and ran up the sideline. I held my breath as I saw their punter had a shot at him. Then, out of nowhere, Phil blasted the kid off his feet. Our fans couldn’t believe we’d pulled off the comeback.
“Do we kick the extra point and play overtime, or go for two and win this game?” I asked Coach Hope.
“You think you can win this?” Coach Mason asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said.
Coach Mason gathered the offense around once Coach Hope gave his approval.
“Let’s roll David out and give him the option to run or pass the ball,” he said and then called the play.
I took a moment to take it all in. I played football for moments like this. We were in their house on Senior Night and had a chance to win the game after a furious comeback. I looked up into the stands and saw all our fans on their feet. On the other side, St. Joe’s faithful cheered their defense. I spotted several recruiters and smiled. Even they were up and enjoying the drama.
This was it. We lined up in a five-receiver set. My brother Phil, Wolf, and Roc were on my right side. I had Cassidy’s boyfriend, Don Crown, and Jake on the left. On the snap, I sprinted to the right. The St. Joe defense flowed with me, so I pump-faked the ball to get them to freeze for a moment. They realized their mistake and quickly recovered as they ran to cut me off.
